urun~Congratulations on your marathon finish! Loved reading your abbreviated RR. The courage, patience and perserverance you demostrated while adapting to challenging circumstance is truly inspiring. Your training certainly prepared you to keep up with all the mental gymnastics as you assesed proceeding during different points on the route. As you stated, "the speed is there". Treat yourself to some well deserved rest and recovery, and enjoy looking for the next FM. BTW--how are the Brooks PureFlow working for you? Did you wear them for the marathon?

Sally-welcome back! Looking over your races, the Dexter-Ann Arbor 10K brought a smile to my face; my wife ran that race 30 years ago when we lived there! Where has the time gone.

URun- you made a lot of good decisions at your marathon. Those kind of temps are nothing to fool with. A marathon in WI was cancelled half way through earlier this year due to temps like that. You finished!! And feeling good enough to plan another. And no ER visit for IV fluids. Good job!

Debra- Nice time on the W2W 5K- you're getting closer and closer to sub-30. Way to go.

The forecast looks good enough for an outdoor run this Friday; then it will be TM in the basement for the following 9 days as deer season opens here in WI. Don't think I'll be running outside at dawn for a while.

Dan~Wise move to TM it for the coming week. Noticed you signed up for DC and Fox Cities -- you will enjoy both. I am hoping to run DC again, but my younger son has a school event the evening before. The race begins at 10am, so it is possible to make the 3 hr. drive without having to leae in the middle of the night!

Sally~Good to hear from you! Congrats on your latest 10k --well done! Training during the winter can be a challenge. I prefer the cold to summer's heat and humidity, but there is more potential for injury with limited daylight, snow and ice. Last winter I trained for a May HM, but we were blessed with an extremely mild season. Maintaining your current fitness through the next few months and gradually increasing distance in the spring is a wise plan. Look forward to reading your updates.

Like urun, my RR from Sunday's 5k was punted, also. The short version...My goal was to beat 30 minutes. Beautiful sunny 66 degree day. First mile, arghhhh! Unable to maintain 9:39 pace for 3 miles. Finish time 30:31. Had fun. Enjoyed a wonderful post-race breakfast with my favorite veteran(DH) and sons. I have three more opportunities to try to beat 30 minutes before 2012 comes to a close. Feeling confident I can do it, or have fun trying!

I'm 61and my challenge for next year is to complete the FLORIDA DOUBLE IRON(4.8mile swim,224mile bike, 52.4mile run), did an IRON PLUS at the event this year and the VIRGINIA DOUBLE IRON unofficially as part of a two person relay team in October. The main challenge seems to be balancing the training with family,work and all other life events.

Sally: I think you're right that doing only indoor training for a March HM won't get you there. You can probably find one in May; by then you will have had several weeks of outdoor training weather.

urun: Congratulations on your marathon, especially on changing your strategy for the heat.

Our bike club has put away the two-wheelers and we've started our winter hikes. We meet three mornings a week for hikes in our forest preserves and parks, generally three to six miles, followed by breakfast (of course). I usually do two of those a week and another two or three days at the health club. It has an indoor running track in addtion to the resistance machines and treadmills. I use the TM for hill intervals at a brisk walk pace, but I don't like to run on a TM, so I use the track.

Congratulations to all of us for another successful and (generally) healthy year. I and a friend are signing up now for the Wisconsin (Half) Marathon in Kenosha (May 4, 2013) for some motivation. Plus, we get $5 off.

--Steve

Completed in 2012:

The Qualifier HM, Midland MI, May 2012, 2:58, 80+ degrees

Dam to Dam 20K, Des Moines, IA, June 2012, 2:17, PR for this race

Garry Bjorklund HM, Duluth, MN, June 2012, 2:20

Fox Valley HM, St. Charles, IL, 9/16/12, 2:23

Des Moines HM, 10/21/12, 2:19

Tentative plans for 2013:

Wisconsin (Half) Marathon, Kenosha, WI 5/4/2013 (registered)

Dam To Dam 20K, Des Moines, 6/2/2013 (registration opens March 20th)

Grandma's (Half) Marathon, Duluth, MN, 6/22/2013 (if I get picked again in the lottery)

Steve, frustrating isn't it? You have my sympathies. Wrote a long post last night and it looked like it worked, but this morning pffft! Gone. Oh, well it was too long any way.

MKay, Sorry didn't mean come off as gloating - it was more a complaint. The way I sweat these days cold weather sounds good. A grass is greener thing.

URun, any marathon completed is a good one in my book, doing it in the heat that's dedication.

Sally, Don't know what your area is like but around here there are multiple races every week. Some training schedules include races every 3 weeks, for the longer races they build as you go along. It helps me to stay motivated and track progress and I like racing. Oh and Congrats on your 10K.

Girl, nice first race! (for the series). Build on it and you look really close for cracking 30.

Did the "Run with the Jets" 10K this Sunday. Race went well and only made one real mistake. Thought there was a sensor for the chips at the start, so waited in the back - thought wrong. My son waited with me, so I wasn't alone. Gorgeous day, high 40's low 50's in the shade with no clouds and crystal clear air. Finally cracked the 50 minute barrier with official time of 45:46 (my watch clocked it in 45:23). Son got in at 42:27 and I got to see him for 1/2 the run. Did get chicked, 28 year old woman used me to pace after I passed her at mile 4. At about 5.5 she went by me and I couldn't keep up. She got 75-100 yards ahead with about 1/4 mile to go. Kicked it out and found I had a bit left in the tank and was able to cut that down to ~40 yards at the finish.

I'm about the same speed I was before my knee problems 15 years ago, I guess hard work pays off --- who knew...

I'm glad I found this thread! I am 59 and have been running for about ten years--a few 5K's sprinkled in, and a dry spell or two--but I'm back and am training for the half in Las Vegas. My biggest challenge is staying confident! My last long run of 12 miles is coming up and I'm still in the game Also, I don't know what to expect of myself. I can't run a half at a 10 or even 11 minute pace; maybe a sub-12 for 6-7 miles. What should my strategy be? Any advice? This is a great forum and I enjoy all the shared experiences--I feel at home!

sipsip- I am also 59 and did my first HM in September. My goal was to finish without injury, so I did a run/walk/run method. (There are several on this over 50 thread who do some version of this.) I ran 2 minutes and walked 1 and just kept repeating that. Of course hills sometimes dictated walking sooner or running longer in order to take advantage of the down hills. I did a similar method last month and finished a full marathon, but used a 1:1 ration for that one. Your fitness may be a bit beyond mine, perhaps you could do 5 min running, then walk a minute, then repeat. some people will do a mile, then walk 1-2 minutes; you can vary it based on what works best for you. I'd suggest trying some variant of this on your 12 miler coming up and see how it works. Most of all, Good Luck! Enjoy the race and finish injury free, that's the main idea.

Gary-those goals you have are REAL challenges! Wow. Good luck and keep us updated on how the training goes!

Dave-You also have great goals for 2013! I'm still working on my 2013 plan, but do have several HM scheduled. Good luck with your training and racing.

justrundan, Thank you for your reply! I will try the run/walk/run this weekend. I was sort of doing that but it was random walking. I think by timing the walks it will help me stay confident (head games ). A great reminder too that staying injury-free should be the top goal!

I'm 58 and started running a little in June because I want to do a Tough Mudder event on 1 December and that covers about 12 miles. I already enjoyed bike riding and racquetball a few times a week, but haven't run or jogged in several years. I started with treadmill running with 1 mile in 12 minutes, worked up to 3 miles twice a week by end of August. Then I figured I better pick up the distance and work my way off the treadmill to something more similar to the TM running. I worked up to a 10 mile treadmill run the end of October, started some outdoor running and entered an organized 10K trail run which I did at 11:01 minutes/mile on 4 November, did 10.5 miles a few days ago in about 2 hours, 10 minutes. But this thread is about challenges, so

My Challenges: 1. I felt stiff in my leg muscles every morning after a run after I started making them longer, especially the outdoor running. 2. I need more rest time than younger days, so usually run about every third day. 3. I feel a little disappointed at the speed, but realize age has an effect. 4. I worry a bit that too much running may cause knee or back problems if I keep it up. 5. It's difficult to work in the time required for long runs while still trying to keep up with other activities.

I enjoyed reading posts on this web page from people in my age group since we have a lot of things in common and I hope to gain some insights.

I'll complete the TM in less than two weeks and was thinking it would be a shame to waste all the work I did getting up to a long run. Logically, it seemed like I could just keep adding a mile or so per week to my long run and do a Marathon, sort of a "check the box thing" since I was getting close anyway. A friend who always enjoyed running told me I'd be better off with a Half Marathon as full Marathons aren't really a logical extension of anything and were a completely different animal. So right now, I'm thinking of doing intervals for about 5 miles once a week (Tuesday?), easy 5 mile runs once a week (Fridays?), and a long run on Sundays working up to roughly 13 miles sometime in December. Because I'd like to go a little faster if I'm going to bother to enter a race, I thought I'd register for a 17 March Half Marathon by which time my interval training should give me a decent race pace. Any advice or thoughts from more experienced runners?

Your friend is right, full Marathons are not a logical extension of anything. Marathons beat the crap out of your body. Starting out with a Half Marathon is perfect, maybe even a couple of HM's.

You are a few years older than me (I'm 55 and started running 3 years ago), and like you I need the necessary rest days to recover. Nevertheless, most of the time I'll average 4-5 days per week. Long runs are always on days when I know that I can have the time to recover afterwards (for icing, stretching, getting my feet up). My goal has been to make sure that I'll still be able to run when I'm 75+. If something hurts, it's a sign that something is off and I need to address whatever it is.

Speed is something that will come with training and experience. In the meantime, your fine to just enjoy the run and build up the endurance. There are tricks to getting faster (other than stealing someone else's genes!), and you will figure those out.

Everybody has different reasons for running a Marathon, so just be sure that you are solid in yours. Mine was simply that it was something that was hard to do, but not impossible to achieve. If your goal includes running the distance completely, i.e. not walk-running, it is a tremendous thing. You will cross incredible chasms, both mental and physical, but if you train for it properly, you will succeed, have a great time doing it, and will want to do it again.

I had my struggles, and a struggle during my marathon, but I did it and can't wait to do it again. I had hoped to run 2 marathons in 2012, but had to deal with one injury after another. So now I'm looking forward to 2013.

I have a blog about my marathon training and running that I've been keeping for my Dad (so that he can participate with me vicariously) and you are welcome to read it:

sederleaf - I'm a fellow Ann Arborite (judging from your events), and I thought I would share my winter running routines with you... it's kind of important conditioning-wise I think to keep running during the winter or else it's harder to get going in the spring. At first I did a lot of treadmill running during the winter, but then I learned how to dress and what kind of shoes to wear and found that running outside in the cold was actually really, really great.

For obvious reasons, I would skip running on the sleety, icy days, and instead of running outside I'd find something indoors to do cardio-wise.

For clothes, I found that thin layers are the best. When it's below 30, three layers is fine. Below 20, an over layer of thin-sulate or somethign fleecy helps keep you warm enough, but still breathable. If it's windy, I'll do a windbreaker.

For shoes, I found a pair of gore-tex trail running shoes (mine are Brooks), that keep my feet dry in the slush. They are a little heavier than my "summer" shoes, and they are great.

For headgear, we are most likey to have very different needs there, given that I shave my head and it gets real cold real fast. But you definitely want to wear something that keeps heat in, especially when you are running in below 20 degree weather. I have a hoodie/head-glove kind of thing that covers my whole head and covers my mouth/nose as well so that I'm not sucking in freezing air.

As a side note: I love running in the snow and when it is snowing. There is nothing like blazing a trail through freshly fallen snow. Folks in passing cars look at you like your nuts (and you kind of are, but in a great way), and it's fun.

urun Great move changing your game plan during your marathon. You finished WITH NO ISSUES. CONGRATS.

Debra I think you had a great 5k 30:31. Not sure how many steps you were off per mile to end up at 30:00. BUT IT WASN'T MANY

WELCOME to all the new people who have started posting on this thread the past two weeks.

Steve i feel your pain. I have been unable to adjust my profile for a month. I get to the end only to have it reset everything again.

Dan HOPE ALL IS WELL

As for me I'm still dealing with a joint issue on my big toe. I haven't had a decent run since I ran Chicago.

ANYWAY. I'm going to try again this week. To get three easy runs in. I really am still planning on running Rockn Roll St Pete in Feb if i can. "ANYBODY HAVE SOME MAGIC DUST". MY down time feels like post marathon blues. Want to but don't feel like the same guy.

Mkay Heading to Philly after traveling for business this week to see my family. Looking forward to your race report.

Actions

More Like This

Incoming Links

ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.